Feed mechanism.



D. 0. GRIGGS & R. L. WILGOX.

FEED MECHANISM. APPLIOATIUN FILED MAY 14, 1909.

Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

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WITNESSES.-

D. G. GRIGGS & R. L. WILGOX.

- FEED MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1909.

WITNESSE MML W W k M A TTORNE Y.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'DAVID C. GRIGGS AND RICHARD LESTER WILCOX, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT,

ASSIGNORS TO THE WATERBURY FARREL FOUNDRY AND MACHINE COMPANY, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

FEED MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, DAVID C. Graces and RICHARD Lnsrnn VVILoox, citizens of the United States, residing at Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed Mechanism, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in feed mechanism, more particularly as applied to mechanism for feeding wire, and has for its object, among other things, to operate such mechanism from a crank disk so that the feed movement will be completed during a rotation of less than 180 of said disk; to so regulate and control said feed movement that it will begin gradually and progressively increase until its maximum speed is obtained and then gradually decrease to the end of its stroke; as well as to make the device of the fewest possible parts, all of which may be constructed at the minimum cost and readily assembled.

To these, and other ends, our invention consists of the feed mechanism having certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals of reference designate like parts in the several figures; Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine having our improved feed' mechanism applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view thereof; and Fig. 3 is a diagram of the feed motion.

The machine shown in the drawings is the side elevation of a rivet machine of a common type, in which wire from a reel is fed into the machine, is cut off into lengths, and the end thereof upset to form a rivet head. This specific type of machinery is chosen only for purposes of illustration, as our invention may be applied to any machine requiring feed for wire or a metal strip.

One difficulty found in the feed mechanism of this type of machinery is occasioned by gripping the wire and instantly moving it at the maximum speed, which continues Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 14, 1909.

Serial No. 495,933.

throughout the feed movement. The inertia of the stationary roll of wire is not overcome by such sudden action, hence the gripping mechanism slips, with the result that the successive wires are not of uniform length. This objection is one of great moment where wire of large diameter is used, and is more pronounced in the feed from a full roll of wire, it being apparent that the lighter the roll the less will be the tendency to slip. Attempts have been made to overcome this difficulty by the use of cam mech anism, but while this is a material improvement over the old devices it also proved objectionable because the cam is expensive to construct and is connected wit-h the feed mechanism by parts that are more or less complex, as well as costly to produce. All of these objections are overcome in our invention wherein the feed mechanism is 0perated from a crank disk, capable of being manufactured at the minimum cost.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the bed of the machine, 2 the main shaft, 3 the driving wheel, 4 the feed shaft having the feed roll 5 mounted thereon, 6 the disk shaft which is rotated by a geared connection (not shown) from the main shaft 2 and upon which is fixed the disk 7 Rotatably connected with the bed 1 by the stud 8 between the shafts 6 and t is the rock arm 9 which is connected with the disk 7 by the link 10. Fixed on the end of the shaft 1 is the pawl carrier 11 having a pawl 12 connected therewith, which engages with the teeth upon the ratchet disk 13, fixed upon the shaft 4:, and

said pawl carrier having a radial slot 14:

therein within which a block 15 is movable through the screw 16 threaded therethrough and having a hand wheel 17 at its outer end and a check nut 18 threaded thereon. A link 19 which is adjustably secured to the rock arm 9 by the pintle 2O unites said rock arm with the adjustable block 15. The rock arm 9 is provided with a plurality of holes 21, into any one of which the pintle 20 may be inserted so as to connect the arm 19 thereto in any one of several different positions, the pintle 20 being held against accidental disengagement in said positions by a spring plate 22 which is constructed and operated in a well known manner. Rotation of the crank disk 7 imparts an oscillating move- Patented Aug. 23, 1910. I

ment to the rock arm :9 through the link 10, which in turn is transmitted to the pawl carrier 11 through the link 19.

In Fig. 1 the parts are shown in their relative positions at the completion of the feeding movement, and in Fig. 3 the rock arm and links are shown in their relative positions at the commencement of the feeding movement, It is while in this latter position the movement of the pawl arm is begun gradually and continued at a very slow but progressively increasing rate of speed until it has moved through a portion of its travel are, when the full speed is acquired. In Fig. 3 a diagram is shown to illustrate the means by which this is accomplished during the continuous rotation of the crank disk at a uniform speed. While the center of the head 23 of the connection 10 is traveling from the point a to the point 0 (Fig. 3), the center of the head of the connection 19 is traveling through a much shorter are from the point a to 0 and the head 24 of the link 10 is traveling from the point a to 0. While the center of the head 23 is traveling from c to d the center of the head 24 is traveling from the point 0 to d and the head 25 from point 0 to d, which is a very slight movement compared to that of the head 23, and while the center of the head 23 is moving to the point f the center of the head 24 travels to the point f and the center of the head 25 travels to the point f, which is a considerably shorter arc than that through which the head 23 travels. Until the head 25 reaches the point f only a very slight endwise movement is imparted to the link 19, which makes a very light, gradual pull upon the wire through the head 26 and the-pawl connected therewith. This dwell of the pawl'continues while the head 23 travels through an arc of about 30, which, for illustration, will be considered as completed at f, so that the feed is finished during the movement of said head through the remaining 150 of the half circle, a point diametrically opposite the point a. The radial position of the head 26 of the link 19 is adjustable as before described, and the maximum are through which the center of the head 26 travels is shown by the broken line'27 in Fig. 3. As the head 25 of the con nection 19 may be secured to the rock arm 9 in various radial positions, the length of the feeding stroke may be varied indefinitely.

By the device herein described the feeding movement is begun very gradually and continued during the rotation of a crank I disk through an arc of less than 180 with out depending upon lost motion in any of the parts. It is evident that the feeding movement is in like manner gradually reduced and finally ceases just before it roll 5 isobviously intermittent, it being apparent that during the other half of the rotation of the disk 7 the pawl 12 rides idly over the teeth of the ratchet disk 13.

There are minor changes and alterations that can be made within our invention, and we would therefore have it understood that we do not limit ourselves to the exact construction herein shown and described, but claim all that falls fairly within the spirit and scope of our invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rotary member; of feed mechanism; a feed shaft; and means for operating said feed mechanism from said rotary member, without taking advantage of lost motion, so that during a portion of the movement of said rotary member, the movement of said feed mechanism will be less than said rotary member, said means comprising a rock arm, a link pivotally secured to said rotary member and rock arm, and a second link pivotally secured to said rock arm and having an indirect connection with said feed shaft.

2; In a device of the character described, the combination with a rotary member; of feed mechanism; a feed shaft; and means for operating said feed mechanism from said rotary member, without taking advantage of lost motion, so that during a portion of the movement of said rotary member, the said feed mechanism will move through a much smaller arc than said rotary member, said means comprising a rock arm, a link pivotally secured to said rotary member and rock arm, and a second link pivotally secured to said rock arm and having an indirect connection with said feed shaft.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rotary member; of feed mechanism; a feed shaft; and means for operating said mechanism from said rotary member, whereby a rotary movement is imparted to said feed shaft during the movement of said rotary member through an arc of less than 180, the said movement beginning and endin gradually and accomplished without taking advantage of lost motion, said means comprising a rock arm, a link pivotally secured to said rotary memher and rock arm, and a second link pivotally secured to said rock arm and having an indirect connection with said feed shaft.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rotary member; of a feed shaft; a pawl and ratchet connected with said shaft; a rock arm, link connections between said rotary member and said rock arm and between said rock arm and said pawl and ratchet, for imparting a rotary movement to said feed shaft, during the movement of said rotary member through an arc of less than 180.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rotary member; of a feed shaft; and means for imparting an intermittent rotary movement to said feed 5 ishaft during the movement of said rotary member through an arc of less than 180, said means comprising an intermediate rock I a link pivotally secured to said rotary ember and rock arm, and a second link jh otally secured to said rock arm and haviigftan indirect connection With said feed 51a G. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rotary member; of I a feed shaft; means for imparting an intermittent rotary movement to said feed shaft during the movement of said rotary member through an arc of less than 180, said means comprising an intermediate rock arm, a link pivotally secured to said rotary member and rock arm, and a second link pivotally secured to said rock arm and having an indirect connection With said feed shaft; and means for adjustably connecting one of said links With said rock arm.

In testimony whereof We affix our signatures in presence of tWo Witnesses.

DAVID C. GRIGGS. RICHARD LESTER WILCOX. Witnesses:

NELLIE M. NooNAN, CLARENDON NIOKERSON. 

